Valentine's Day e-Card Could Be Virus In Waiting
Be wary when opening e-mail greeting cards this Valentine's Day if you don't know the sender. As Switched.com has been warning all its readers for a few weeks now, the message could turn out to be a computer virus, in this case known as a "botnet," which can take over your computer to send more viruses out, link to other computers doing the same, or even steal your personal information.
The FBI suggests not opening e-mail if you don't know the sender.
This particular e-mail baddy is known as the Storm Worm virus, and saw activity around several holidays last year. It takes advantage of people who let down their guard because an e-mail greeting card is often entertaining and seen as non-threatening.
Typically, the e-card arrives in a user's in-box, the e-mail is opened, and the user is directed to click on a link within the text to retrieve the full card. That's when the virus download occurs. The Storm Worm will be downloaded to that computer and begin its bad work, which ultimately is to deny service to a large network.
Storm Worm (so named because the subject line of the e-mail messages originally contained the line "Many Dead As Storm Batters Europe") was the most pervasive Internet attack last year.
Here are Switched.com's quick three tips to avoid Storm Worm and other viruses, trojans and malwares from being downloaded to your computer:
- Don't click on a link in an e-mail message from someone you don't know.
- Turn on your e-mail reader's spam prevention.
- If an advertisement you find on a Web page looks suspicious, type in the company Web address yourself instead of clicking directly on the ad (Sometimes Web ads are another way viruses and trojans get distributed.)
From News.com.au.
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- Record Industry Wants Anti-Virus Software to Scan for Pirated Files
- Malicious Websites Trick Google, Infect Computers
